Keep calm it's only a storm
by mccordwhitehouse
Summary: Another take on how a young Elizabeth and Henry may have met.
1. Chapter 1

It was Wednesday, which had become Elizabeth's favourite day of the week. Her line up of classes was exciting but also manageable, with calculus in the morning and political history in the afternoon. She had a half hour break which she used to treat herself to coffee, where she drank it from a mug sat in her favourite seat in the corner of the coffee shop with the paper. Coffee was so much better when you could warm your hands clasping a mug and watch the world go by. She made sure she tasted every sip. Later, on she had an hour-long lunch break. In the early evening, she had a tradition of eating slices of the best Italian pizza in Chartlottesville, then she'd head back to the library until around eleven to study. It was her midweek indulgence, a day of treating herself and it always made her smile.

UVA was old, wooden, creaky and full of character. Nooks and crannies were everywhere and along the corridor from the library were a number of smaller, quieter study rooms with large desks and old-fashioned lamps with tasseled pull-cords in the corners of the room. Brass handles lined the doors and the ceilings were high and ornate with elaborate and pretty plaster-work. The rooms really were beautiful, copied from English royalty and a testament to heritage. You could take books there from the library with permission as long as you left them on the return shelves and study to your hearts content.

As magnificent as the study rooms were, not many people seemed to use them and Elizabeth was grateful. She supposed it was because they were further away from the library and some people found them a little creepy. But to her they were quiet and peaceful. Elizabeth could spread her things haphazardly all over the desk without fear of someone side eyeing her about taking up too much space and stretch her legs under the desk without inadvertently playing footsie with a stranger.

For the last three weeks' she'd noticed there was a really cute guy who'd also been studying there. She tried to tell herself that wasn't the only reason she had a smile on her face every Wednesday, but supposed her smiles had been a little wider over the last month or so. However, he really wasn't the reason she chose to study outside the library this one day a week, absolutely not. Her being here at this time had nothing to do with a tall, brunette guy with sparkling hazel eyes. Definitely not. She shook her head.

The door squeaked open and she tried desperately to stop herself from looking up immediately. It didn't mean it was him, but she couldn't help the tingles of excitement that she felt in her stomach that it could be. She knew if she caught sight of him she wouldn't be able to stop smiling so she pinned her eyes to the words on her page, making notes on her writing pad and listened as whoever it was sat themselves down and flipped open a textbook.

She left it a good couple of minutes before risking a glance upwards. It was him. She breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth. He had hung his jacket on the back of the chair, and his grey short-sleeved tee showed off his muscular arms. He had sandy-coloured thick, slightly curly hair and blue eyes. He was gorgeous. And he was keen on his studying too, which made him all the more appealing. This to Elizabeth was the ideal situation. To her, he seemed untouchable. He was way out of her league and would never be interested in a second-year student like her. She suspected he was a Masters student or in his final year, he definitely looked a little older. She looked at him, thinking about what it would be like to talk to him, would she be able to flirt with him, would he flirt back, just how soft were those lips of his… She shook her head again and focused on the text in front of her, allowing herself a break to daydream in thirty minutes.

Henry had a chance to survey the room before he entered, something his ROTC training had been teaching him to do. He was pleased to see her there again. The last couple of weeks a beautiful blonde girl had joined him in the study room. He'd never spoken to her but he'd looked up a couple of times from his studying and given her a shy smile. She'd smiled back and he'd felt like the bottom of his seat fell out from under him. She was simply breathtaking. Long blonde hair was piled into a high ponytail, a spare pencil sticking through it. Baby blue eyes and high cheek bones that he suspected were the envy of everyone she met. From the looks of her legs sticking out from underneath the desk she was tall, probably around 5'7 and long, slim legs were inside her scruffy-looking bleached jeans. He'd told himself the first time he saw her in there to not let himself get carried away. She probably had a football team captain boyfriend; anyone would be daft if they hadn't snapped her up and kept her as their girlfriend. But for the Wednesdays he'd shared the room with her, he'd been grateful for the smiles she had brought to his face both now and when he found himself thinking of her during the week.

This was the third week he'd seen her here though and he wondered if this meeting would be a third time lucky for him. He made a mental note to watch out for the next time she got up to grab a book off the shelf or took a bathroom break and decided he'd speak to her. It was crazy how he hadn't already, dreaming up excuses not to. If she had a boyfriend, fine, he would back off. He was sure she'd tell him quickly, and he'd make polite conversation for the rest of the evening before avoiding this room on future Wednesdays. She had occupied far more of his thoughts than he had ever intended, and he was starting to conclude that there must be a reason for that. He cast his eyes downwards and began to read, waiting for a break in her studies.

A bright flash in the darkened, cloudy outside and a loud bang startled them both and Elizabeth dropped her pencil on her book looked up, catching Henry's eye. He saw her inhale a small breath, her hand on her chest in shock. A storm had been threatening all day, and now it had finally decided to break. He stood up from his desk and walked over to the window, Elizabeth not failing to notice the way his t-shirt clung to his abs. She turned her head to look back out of the window.

'Wow,' she whispered, not actually referring to the weather outside.

He held back one of the long, heavy blue velvet curtains to get a better view and stood next to the window watching the storm. He heard her chair push back from her desk and was delighted to see she was coming to join him. He looked up at her and met her eyes, watching the flashes of lightning reflect in her pupils.

'It really is rather beautiful,' he commented, his eyes not leaving her face as she stared forward, watching the rain lash across the window.

'I think it's close by, it's so loud.'

'Yeah. Look at the whole sky light up, it's almost purple.'

'I've always liked watching thunder storms, for some reason I've never been scared of them. Even when I was little.'

'I guess I'm the same. Though I've always watched them from the inside looking out. I wouldn't want to be rushing home right now.'

She shook her head and pressed herself closer to the window, leaning both hands on the wooden ledge. She stood close to him, making no effort to move away from him or choose a different window to watch the storm from. Another loud crack of thunder sounded and they watched as water gushed down the paths across the lawn, large puddles forming in the tree-lined garden below them. The leaves swayed and blew off the branches, whipping themselves into a whirl as they flew by.

'I'm Henry by the way. I think I saw you in here last week?'

'You did. Sometimes I just need to escape the library for a change of scene. I'm Elizabeth.'

'It gets a little crowded and noisy in there sometimes. These rooms are great. Not many people use them though.'

'That can be a blessing.'

'I couldn't agree more!'

He had noticed that she'd been there before. A small smirk crossed her face and she couldn't help but feel happy that she'd at least left a little bit of an impression. The lamps flickered on and off in time with another huge lightning bolt striking the sky. They looked out over the horizon, waiting the few short seconds for the following rumble of thunder. Henry turned to face her just as the lights dimmed again, the bulbs buzzing as they flashed. A sudden explosive bang startled Elizabeth, causing her to jump closer towards him.

'Elizabeth are you alright?'

'Yeah.'

Her heart was pounding as her eyes adjusted to the black that had descended over the room. The bang had definitely not been thunder, but a power surge then a power loss. She nodded, even though he probably couldn't see her and was a little embarrassed that her hand had somehow found its way into his. She wondered if he knew his thumb was stroking over hers. The motion was calming, and she noticed he hadn't made any move to remove his fingers from hers.

'It might come back on in a minute. Or a generator might kick in.'

'I guess so. I've got a flashlight on my keyring.'

'Me too. If it's the one they gave you at UVA initiation they last well!'

'The very same.'

Aside from the cracks of lightning in the sky, the room was pitch black. The high street lamps over campus had all gone dark and Elizabeth could just about make out the outlines of the furniture and a faint glow of white paper from her desk. Her hand remained in Henry's as he tugged on it and moved towards her things.

'Think you can rifle through your bag and find your flashlight? Then help me find mine?'

'Sure.'

He eventually let go of her hand but stayed close to her, as she tipped the contents of her bag on the floor then felt over the objects for her keys. She switched on the small Maglite and held it under her chin to light up her face, causing them both to laugh.

'You look like you're about to crack out a great ghost story.'

'Maybe later if you're lucky and we're still stuck here.'

'At least I'm lucky to be stuck here with you.'

She raised her eyebrows at him and couldn't help but smile. If she'd have shone the light on Henry she'd have seen a red glow over his cheeks. He closed his hand over hers on the flashlight, a little unnecessarily, but he found himself unable to help it.

'Can I borrow this?'

She nodded and watched him walk across the room to get his torch from his bag. The silhouette of his ass was a damn fine sight in those jeans and the t-shirt highlighted his shoulders and muscular arms. There were certainly worse people to be stuck in a storm in a dark study room with.

He felt her eyes on him as he crossed the room and was beginning to feel more positive about their encounter. She had also held his hand when the power had first gone out and his palm was still warm from the heat of hers. She definitely held his hand for longer than she needed to as well and he had struggled not to smile in the darkness at the advantage this storm had given him. He was hoping they could at least talk a little until they waited for the rain to settle and made their way home.

She heard the jangle of keys as he fished his set out of his backpack and saw the light of two torches as he returned her torch to her. He made his way towards the door and twisted the round brass handle. The door rattled in its frame and nothing happened. Henry shrugged his shoulders and turned to face Elizabeth, casting the light of his torch in her direction.

'I just thought the emergency lights in the hall might be on. If I opened the door it might give us a bit more light in here.'

'Yeah. Good idea.'

Elizabeth scrunched her eyebrows together as she watched Henry jiggling the handle, his shoe kicking at the door as he leant on it with his shoulder.

'Henry? Hang on a second.'

She dodged between the desks to go and join him, shining her flashlight on the door handle to give him some more light. He gave her his torch to hold so he could try the door handle with both hands, but it would only go so far before it got stuck. Elizabeth had a sinking feeling that the door wasn't just stuck.

'It's not normally this hard to open...'

Henry continued to turn the handle one way, then back the other but the old oak door stayed firmly put in its frame. He sighed, rubbing a hand over his forehead and met Elizabeth's eyes, a sorry expression on his face.

'I think we might be locked in.'

'I think you're right.'


	2. Chapter 2

A/N – thank you for all the positive comments on this so far! Here's another chapter and I am glad you're enjoying it. Reviews as always are appreciated.

'Shit! How did this happen?'

Elizabeth reached past Henry to try the door again, the handle rattling as she turned one way, then the other but the door showed no signs of shifting. She sighed, leaning against the bookshelf, head towards the ceiling.

'They normally check the rooms and see if people are still working.'

'Right! Do you think we didn't hear them because of the storm?'

'I guess so. Or they didn't hear us. I can't think of any other reason.'

He placed a sheet of note paper in the book on his desk to mark his place and closed it with a thwack, making a neat pile of papers before clearing them to one side and hopping up to sit there. His feet rested on the edge of his chair as he faced her, leaning his elbows on his knees and placing his head in his hands. He looked at the empty space next to him, looked over towards her and hoped she'd join him.

Elizabeth jumped up quickly from where she was stood and rushed to the phone on the book shelf, sighing in exasperation as she realized if the power was out the phone lines were down too.

'Well that was a good idea for all of 3 seconds.'

She replaced the phone next to a stack of books and slowly walked towards Henry, pushing herself up onto his desk and sitting next to him. She swung her legs watching her feet dangle off the ground and he slid the chair towards her, allowing her to rest her feet there.

'Thanks.'

'Elizabeth. I'm sorry.'

'What? It's not your fault we're stuck here.'

He shrugged and straightened up, leaning his hands back on the table so he could get a better look at her. Even in the dimness of torchlight he could make out the spark of her eyes, well-sculpted cheek bones and perfectly proportioned nose. She was beautiful, and he was now stuck in a room with her probably until early the next morning. This was God giving him an opportunity to get to know her better. Maybe he listened occasionally after all.

'I know. I guess because I was nearest the door. If I hadn't got up to look at the storm I might have heard something.'

'Doubtful. Security guys here aren't exactly known for being thorough.'

He pressed the light on his watch and showed her the time, the numbers glowing eerily around the green coloured light. 'Do you think they'll be back?'

'I think we better prepare for the fact they probably won't be.'

She nudged his arm with hers and that got him to give her a smile. His eyes were playful with hers as he did; they were a deep brown colour that looked impossibly dark in the low lighting. His voice was deep, soft. He was well-spoken and articulate and was clearly someone who thought about what he said before he let it tumble out of his mouth. And that mouth; a full bottom lip, straight white teeth, such well-built shoulders… Thick sandy hair you could run your hands through… Elizabeth shuddered next to him.

'Hey, are you cold?'

She coughed a little as she realised he'd noticed before folding her arms around herself. Before she could tell him she really was fine, in fact she was anything _but_ __cold, Henry had hopped down from the desk and dug out his hoodie from his rucksack. He passed it up to her before sitting down next to her.

'Honestly Henry, I'm fine. You've only got a t-shirt on, you'll freeze.'

'I'm fine. I insist. Please.'

He dropped the hoodie into her lap and even though Elizabeth felt her temperature at that moment was certain to melt polar ice caps, she unfolded the hoodie. As if it wasn't enough to smell him next to her, her nose was now assaulted by the scent of sandalwood, lime and a hint of fabric softener. Elizabeth pulled the hoodie over her head and stuck her arms through the holes. She looked down at the white lettering on the navy blue soft cotton that read 'Royal Office Training Corps.'

'Thank you.'

'You're welcome.'

'You're in the ROTC?'

'Yeah. I got a scholarship to study here on the proviso I serve my country. It might not work for some but it's worked so far for me.'

He smiled across at her, his eyes twinkling. It hadn't escaped his notice that she'd been staring at his arms since she'd sat down next to him; he was just hoping she liked what she saw.

'How about you?'

'Well, my military scholarship fell through so now I'm just in my second year as a math major.'

'Looks like you've got some heavier reading there other than math.'

He nodded his head towards her desk, stacked haphazardly with text books that were threatening to topple onto the floor.

'I take classes in political history and economics. How about you?'

'Theology actually. And history of religion. I also have a medieval history class.'

'So, you study religion, understand the beliefs of the world. But you'll be going to war? You don't seem… I don't know.'

She drifted off, wondering whether she should say what she really thought when she didn't really know Henry at all. She sensed though that he'd be the sort of person that would respect her opinion regardless of whether he agreed with it or not. She stared ahead, the glow of her flashlight illuminating the floor.

She felt him lay a hand on her arm just as her body temperature was starting to return to normal and her cheeks warmed again.

'You can ask me or tell me. It's not like I'm going anywhere.'

'Guys I've met before, military guys. They seem different to you. They want to fight, regardless of the cause.'

He laughed out loud at that one. 'I know what you mean. I've met a few.'

'Yeah. You don't seem like that.'

'I'm not. And believe me, if there'd been another way to have a college education paid for, I would have taken it. The ROTC gave me a scholarship for this degree, I'll serve my time and my country and then I think the academic route is for me. Maybe a PhD. It's the ethics and understanding of conflict that interests me, not the fighting itself.'

She nodded at him. It was amazing what you could discover about people by the small things they told you. He would have had to work hard at high school for a scholarship and clearly the military was not something he saw himself doing forever. A PhD wasn't exactly a walk in the park either. Henry seemed like one of a kind. And she was wearing his hoodie, hoping she'd be the only girl that got to wear it in the near future.

'How about you, Elizabeth? Any plans or aspirations for after graduation?'

'I love learning. It's sad but true. I'm thinking of taking an Arabic class next semester. Combining that with math and economics classes. I'm told there are options for government analysts, you know with the CIA recruitment day they come and do here. Sounds kind of exciting.'

'You should never think learning is sad. Language skills would be great for that kind of role, especially with what's going on in the middle east. You may get to travel as well, work overseas for a bit.'

She smiled at him. He was the first guy who hadn't just looked at her and made a ridiculous comment about being a spy. He even seemed understanding and supportive of someone who might want to spread their wings beyond home soil for the future. Maybe that was because he'd have to travel for his career, but she suspected his all-round positive attitude applied to most situations where people wanted to push themselves to try new things.

'So, which branch of the military?'

'Marines. If all goes well I'll be accepted onto their fighter pilot programme.'

'Wow. I'm trying desperately here not to make a Top Gun comment.'

'Ahh, and I did so well not making a crack about you becoming a spy.'

They both giggled and he nudged her with his elbow. She playfully slapped him on the chest and their eyes locked onto each others', their grins wide and their eyes crinkled. His eyes roamed over her face and landed on her mouth, and she twisted her bottom lip between her teeth, letting it go and wetting her lips.

'This isn't exactly what I had envisioned for us getting to know each other better.'

His face was close to hers and their elbows were touching. She noticed that as they'd been talking their hips moulded against each other. Elizabeth took a deep breath in as she realised that perhaps he'd been thinking about seeing her outside of a library study room too.

'What do you mean?'

'I'd wanted to talk to you later tonight, ask you out. I just wasn't sure how to start things off.'

'Well, you've done a pretty good job so far.'

He hopped off the desk and she missed his warmth next to her already. She looked down at him rustling something in his bag and he unwrapped a foil package and spread it open over the table next to them. Elizabeth's eyes lit up as she saw a large slice of ham and mushroom pizza that she was sure was from Giovanni's cut into two pieces. Her stomach growled in appreciation and she struggled not to reach over and pull his lip into her mouth and kiss him.

'I know it's not dinner out, but I'd love it if you'd share cold pizza with me.'

'I'd like that.'

She'd never been so thankful for a meteorological event and power failure in her entire life.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N – thank you for all your positive reviews so far. This story may take a turn that some of you don't like, so I apologise if it is not to your tastes. Apologies also for my error in the last chapter about the Royal Officer Training Corps – being from the UK everything in our military has 'Royal' attached to it so making this changeover was a little tricky! If I can figure out how I will change it.

Feedback, as always, is appreciated. And a longer chapter is coming after this too.

Elizabeth moaned in appreciation as she took a bite of the pizza, a low, husky vibration deep in her throat. The mozzarella was deliciously sticky and still slightly warm from the foil packaging and then she was hit by the flavor of salted, smoky ham. It was a noise unlike Henry had ever heard before and had made him wonder what other pleasures made Elizabeth make noises like that, and if he could make her make them again. Preferably over and over again and in association with his name.

He watched as her eyes slid shut in sated bliss as she chewed, unable to concentrate on anything else other than this amazing young woman in front of him who he'd somehow had the fortune to get stuck with that evening. Best of all, she had seemed potentially interested in spending some more time with him and he wanted to make damn sure she knew of his intentions to take her on a date. He took a bite of his own pizza, unable to suppress the moan that escaped from his own mouth. It really was the best damn pizza he'd ever tasted.

'This is from Giovanni's, right?'

Elizabeth mumbled at him, her mouth full as she tried to hold her hand in front of it as she spoke. She was tearing into the pizza ravenously with her teeth and Henry felt guilty for only giving her half his slice.

'It is. It's the best damn pizza I've ever tasted.'

'So, so good. I actually went there earlier.'

'You did? And yet you ate mine…'

Henry feigned mock annoyance and hurt and it made her giggle a little, as bumped her against his. 'Hey, you offered it. Can't take it back now.'

He found himself staring at her mouth as she licked the tomato sauce from the edges of her lips, closing her eyes again as she savoured the last remnants of deliciousness, licking the crumbs and olive oil from her fingers. He watched, transfixed as she popped each finger into her mouth individually, not wanting to miss a crumb, her thumb lingering there as her eyes met his, then dropped to his mouth.

'It would be pretty foolish of me to deprive a woman of something she wants and enjoys.'

'It would be.'

He blinked slowly at her, the air around them seeming to crackle with an electricity that was nothing to do with the storm earlier. His eyes roamed hers, getting lost in their deep blue colour, searching out the brightness of their grey flecks. Their shoulders were touching and he swallowed thickly, his eyes still tracing around her face, between her lips, nose and cheeks and finally back towards those eyes again.

The silent seconds ticked by between them, the sounds of their deep breathing all that were audible. He reached a hand to her face and gently wiped tomato sauce from the edge of her mouth with his thumb, leaving his hand there for a second too long.

'You had some sauce there I…'

'Don't be foolish, Henry.'

He inhaled deeply, moving his head forward to respond but unable to as her lips met his, a gentle feather-like caress at first. It was a whisper of a kiss and she pulled back to look at him, finding his face impossibly close to hers with his pupils blown wide. His eyes were dark with a desire and intensity that made her stomach flutter and he reached his hand to her shoulder to tangle his fingers through her hair, pulling his mouth to hers.

His lips moved over hers so slowly it was almost agonizing, though their pressure was firm and his intent was clear. She couldn't help but moan against his mouth and the sound she made was enough to be Henry's undoing. He pulled her lower lip between his and opened his mouth to her, allowing their tongues to seek out each others'. His other arm had found its way around her waist and she mirrored his action, her fingers running up and down his back. He never wanted this moment to end, people talked about magic and fireworks and love at first sight and Henry had thought it all fantastical fiction, but what he was feeling now was unlike anything he'd ever experienced before. Her lips tugged at his and she couldn't get enough of their softness, their kissing hungrier as their mouths moulded together.

He pulled away first, but reluctantly as he rested his forehead against hers and pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth, murmuring his words against her lips. 'I'd be a fool not to do that, I was just worried it was a little premature.'

'It felt right to me.'

He rested his face against hers and could feel her smile as her cheeks firmed up against his. She moved to nuzzle her nose against his.

'You're beautiful Elizabeth.'

She blushed, looping her arms around his neck and feeling the heat of his skin through the thin fabric of his t-shirt. She hid her face in his shoulder, embarrassed and caught off a little off-guard by the sudden compliment.

'You are. You're beautiful. I've been wanting to talk to you since you first came in here to study with me, I was just having trouble finding the nerve to do it.'

His sincerity and honesty took the breath she was holding right out of her chest and she dropped her arms from around his neck and twisted herself to face him.

'I never… I thought you'd be interested in me.'

Henry looked aghast and rested his hand on top of hers. His thumb was rubbing over her knuckles as her fingers played with his. He couldn't work out why she didn't see what he saw in front of him, a fiercely beautiful, intelligent woman who was an excellent conversationalist. He'd just have to spend all his time getting her to believe just how fantastic she was.

'Go out with me this weekend?'

She loved the way he asked her as if she'd say anything but yes to him. Her stomach fluttered again and a sensation of warmth and content spread through her veins to her chest. She squeezed a hold of his hand tightly. My God she really liked this guy. He was everything she'd built up in her mind whilst she'd been sat studying with him the last few weeks and she wondered if this was some weird dream she'd suddenly wake up from. She reached her free hand and pinched his arm, her fingers nipping at his bare skin.

'What are you doing?'

'You felt that?'

'It kinda hurt!'

She shoved him in the chest with both of her hands but he grabbed onto them and held them there to keep his balance. Her fingers couldn't help but run over the rivulets of muscles in his chest as she felt him breathe deeply at her touch.

''Marine wounded by girl in study room lock-in.' I can picture the headlines now.'

He laced their fingers together and dropped both their hands into his lap. 'Why'd you pinch me anyway?'

'I was just making sure this wasn't a dream.'

'If this is a dream it's the best one I've had in a long time.'

'Me too. And the answer is yes by the way. I'd love to go out with you this weekend.'

Henry smiled at her and she mirrored his expression back at him. She had a date this weekend and couldn't believe how well this evening was going, despite the fact she was probably going to end up sleeping on a study room floor freezing cold and goodness knows what she'd do if she really needed the bathroom. Their fingers tangled together and let go of one another, their touches gentle against each other. Elizabeth had always loved holding hands and the way Henry's loosely covered hers and stroked them made her heart swell at how wanted she felt by him.

'My arm still hurts by the way. It really is quite painful.'

'Really?'

'Yes, really.'

A devilish glint flashed across his eyes as they bantered back and forth, his fingers drawing circles on her palms and making her wonder if he could draw those feather-light circles in other places on her body too. She swallowed.

'What would make that better?'

'I think I'm owed at least a kiss, for medicinal purposes at the very least.'

Elizabeth bowed her head over and placed a soft kiss onto his forearm. Henry untangled a hand from hers to run his fingers through her hair and she smiled against his skin, placing a kiss at his elbow before locking her eyes with his again.

'Better?'

'Almost.'

He tilted his head towards her and captured her lips in his, his kiss hot and searing as his tongue quickly found hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tugged at the strands of hair at the nape of his neck, pulling him impossibly close to her and making him moan against her. His hands roamed her back and ventured under his sweater to dance his fingers up and down her spine and she shivered against his mouth, craving him and unable to get enough of him.

He slowed down and she noticed, disappointed as he eventually and reluctantly pulled his lips away from hers, breaking their kiss.

'We should…' his breathing was heavy as he shook his head to clear the lust that was fogging his brain. 'We should slow down maybe.'

He stood from his desk and walked around a little awkwardly, his erection feeling constrained by his jeans and his skin feeling incredibly hot despite only wearing a t-shirt. He paused as he pulled back the curtain to peer out of the window, sheet rain still pounding away at the glass. It was like the floodgates in the sky had opened, and it was seemingly fitting that the analogy fitted with exactly how he felt about Elizabeth. Something had opened a gate inside of him and he simply couldn't get enough of touching her, of kissing her. He had shocked himself with his own thoughts and of just how much he seemed to like this girl. She was beautiful but she was fun and she managed to get him engaged in conversation but riled and hot under the collar at the same time.

'I'm sorry,' he heard her whisper from the other side of the room.

He looked over to see her, hugging her knees against her chest and resting her head on top of them. He made the few short strides back to her and placed his hand against her cheek, his thumb rubbing the sensitive spot behind her ear.

'You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for. I was enjoying that, very much.'

'Then why did you stop?'

'Because I really… I just… I want to… I want you.'

He stuttered out the last words and looked at her as she wriggled towards the edge of the table. She spread her legs and he stepped into the gap between them, allowing her to run her hands up and down his arms and feeling the goosebumps rise there.

'I want you, too.'


End file.
